Fire department holds training exercises

Shannon Litz /Nevada AppealCarson City Battalion Chief John Arneson gives direction during a drill at the house at the corner of Telegraph and Stewart streets on Thursday afternoon.

The Carson City Fire Department started conducting training exercises inside the old, abandoned home on Stewart and Telegraph streets Thursday.

The training will continue today and next Monday and Wednesday, said Battalion Chief John Arneson.

The drills work like this: The house is filled with smoke and dummies are placed inside, representing victims who need rescuing.

A team of firefighters and paramedics arrive, suit up and try to locate the bodies inside the home and evacuating them. On Monday and Wednesday they will set fire to one room in the house during the drill.

Arneson said the department retrofitted the room where they will set the fire with drywall.

The Carson Nugget bought the house last year from a Fallon couple to make way for the proposed City Center project. In the meantime, the casino is letting the fire department use the house for training.